Vaccination drive for 18+ to kick off in Bhubaneswar today

BHUBANESWAR: Vaccination for 18-44 age-group will kick off in the state capital on Monday at 30 government sites. The city, which has been witnessing a surge in Covid cases, has five lakh people in the particular age bracket and the state government wants to complete their vaccination by June.
On Saturday, as part of a dry run, 96 people in the 18-44 age-group were given Covaxin, which is being administered only in the state capital. Those in the rest of the state will have to wait for some more days for Covishield stock to arrive.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhury said they have 1.5 lakh doses of Covaxin to start inoculation of 18-44 age-group. “The vaccination of this group will be done on a war footing. We have 30 government sites on the launch day. All infrastructure has been kept ready,” Chaudhury said.
In the state capital, as many as 11,000 have been registered themselves for the first day’s inoculation. There are two time slots for vaccination. Those in the 18-44 age bracket will be vaccinated between 8 am and 1 pm. From 3 pm to 6 pm, others can take the jab.
Bijay Panigrahi, director, family welfare, said for inoculating both doses to the 18-44 age-group in capital city, they have placed a request for 10.34 lakh doses of Covaxin, which is expected in phases.
“The beneficiaries have been allotted sites. Those who have registered on Co-WIN portal can go to the respective site and get vaccinated,” said CVSN Rao, additional district urban public health officer.